Chapter 14: Lich Guard

“Disrupt them!”

Furlo's command transmitted clearly through the channel. Immediately following, the soldiers of the Astral Knight Chapter emerged from the dust like incarnations of death, their bolters roaring to life.

Nearby Necrons—mostly the lowest-tier servants—did not realize what was happening until they were being pulverized.

The first and third tactical squads of the second company moved in a wedge formation on either side of Furlo, driving their fire deep into the nearby enemy. Soshian's squad joined the fire on the left flank; he shared part of his ammunition with Axe, making his own supply even tighter.

It did not take long for the Necrons to react.

Massive silhouettes loomed vaguely through the dust ahead, clanking and moving with a heavy, lumbering gait.

“Heavy armor detected,” a Sergeant reported over the channel, his voice nearly drowned out by the high-pitched whine of gauss weaponry.

“Cease fire,” Furlo commanded instantly. “Conserve ammunition.”

The Space Marines halted, leveling their weapons toward the source of the noise in the dust.

There were five of them, each as large as a Terminator. Their humanoid frames were covered in shimmering green crystals and encased in polished, heavy plating. Each held a sword in one hand and a shield in the other; the massive shields rippled with faint undulations, indicating the presence of a deflection field.

After a few probing shots, the Space Marines discovered that bolter rounds merely sparked against the armor, and those hitting the front of the shields were deflected outright. Only the corpses on the ground served to slow their advance.

These were likely the Lychguard of a Necron Overlord.

“Concentrate fire!” Furlo ordered, clenching his fists tight as his bionic servos crackled.

As a massive volley of fire surged toward the Lychguard, a plasma shot struck one of them. The resulting explosion ignited its shield, but failed to destroy it, only causing the deflection field to overload.

Furlo wore an Ironclad-pattern Tactical Dreadnought Armor, a relatively rare type for this era. This specific Terminator pattern sacrificed some mobility for immense defensive capabilities and was the only model equipped with a built-in void shield generator.

At that moment, an armor-piercing round streaked toward the Lychguard whose deflection field had faltered, instantly piercing its glowing ocular socket and detonating inside.

Though it did not fall, the strike was enough to turn it into an immobile, useless pillar of metal.

However, the remaining four were already upon them, their phase swords thirsting for a harvest.

“Keep suppressing!”

More Necron Warriors had gathered behind the Lychguard, marching mechanically while their gauss flayers fired incessantly. Though their poor accuracy meant most shots landed around the Space Marines, several did find their marks.

With the sound of heavy objects hitting the ground, the Space Marines' firepower began to wane.

Following Furlo's command, two squads pivoted their fire, reaping the Necron Warriors supporting the Lychguard with a storm of bolter shells.

“Third squad, maintain suppressive fire,” Furlo’s voice remained steady. “First squad, prepare grenades. Follow me.”

He stepped forward with a roar.

While the third squad continued to suppress the Necron Warriors, a team of warriors followed Furlo, drawing krak grenades and combat blades.

After a few strides, Furlo charged at full speed toward the lead Lychguard, raising his right fist high.

The Lychguard attempted to counter with its phase sword.

A set of blades sliced deep into the ceramite and adamantium of his right side, but the strike was deflected aside by the burst of refraction energy from Furlo's left shoulder plate, which was reinforced with a Terminator core.

Now, it was defenseless.

Furlo threw a massive punch, carving a crackling trail of blue lightning through the darkness.

The violent impact shattered the core of the deflection shield; grey-blue fragments sprayed out like metal shavings from a detonating bolt, and the thick shield was ripped straight from the Lychguard's hand.

While it was still reeling, another punch slammed into its chest, crushing the armor plating and causing a spray of debris and liquid metal to erupt from the mechanical undead's back like disemboweled viscera.

The final blow, driven by unstoppable force and momentum, sent the broken Lychguard crashing to the ground.

A shockwave rippled outward from the point of impact, shaking the corpse-strewn battlefield, followed by a thunderous boom that tore through the dusty atmosphere.

Furlo pulled his fist from the burning wreckage.

Around him, the first squad had joined the fray.

Three warriors worked together to blow off a Lychguard's leg with a krak grenade. As the machine collapsed, flailing its limbs, one warrior leaped onto its chassis, hacking at its head with a chainsword until it was reduced to unidentifiable scrap.

Sparks flew and liquid metal spilled out during the struggle until the Lychguard's limbs finally twitched to a halt.

But this did not mean they had won; the remaining two Lychguards quickly retaliated.

“Argh...!”

A warrior who had driven his chainsword deep into a shield only realized he had fallen into a trap when the deflection field suddenly flared to life. Before he could withdraw, the field severed his right wrist clean off.

As the Space Marine stumbled back, the Lychguard twisted its wrist, driving its phase sword effortlessly through his power armor and up through his throat.

But before it could withdraw the blade, a thunder hammer and a power sword struck its skull and hip simultaneously, tearing the creature into three pieces.

Nearby, another warrior ignited a Lychguard with his flamer, the cold shell instantly bursting into flames.

Yet the creature did not stop; instead, it stumbled forward in a frantic trot, thrusting its weapon before the warrior could swap fuel tanks.

The blade pierced straight through the Space Marine's chest, and his flamer fell to the ground.

The joints of the burning Lychguard screeched with friction as it hoisted the warrior up, impaling him even deeper.

Crimson blood spilled onto the burning shell, only making the flames burn more fiercely.

With a trembling hand, the warrior pulled the pin on a krak grenade and screamed into the vox

“For the Emperor!”

A second later, the explosion atop the Lychguard's head ignited the fuel tanks on the ground. The inferno swallowed both the great warrior and his killer, but it did not kill the machine.

“Filthy xenos scum!”

A furious Furlo charged the enemy that had slain his comrade, his fists flashing with blinding electrical arcs.

But he was too late.

A chainsword flashed out of the flames like lightning, burying itself deep into the chest of the Lychguard standing before Furlo.

The blade lingered for only a moment before it was wrenched out with a low hum.

The Lychguard instantly disintegrated into countless fragments.

Furlo felt the burning metal shards scrape against his Terminator armor, but they left almost no damage.

He turned to look at the man who had finished the Lychguard.

Soshian stood tall amidst the battlefield, his already twisted chainsword gripped tightly in his hand. From his ragged breathing and his grim, livid expression, it was clear he was even more enraged than Furlo.

“Well done, Sergeant,” Furlo offered a simple commendation, before turning to continue toward the scattered Necron ranks.

“Remember this rage. Savor it. Use it well.”

(End of Chapter)